Basin element

ABSTRACT

A one-piece extruded element adapted for mounting on the lip of a basin as a protective bumper, is disclosed. The element is in the form of a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;7&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; having a top section and a long and short leg. The long leg has a slanted foot at the end thereof and a downwardly and inwardly slanting member positioned at the top thereof and terminating before reaching the outer surface of said long leg. The extrusion is of a strong material, preferably a resilient plastic.

United States Patent 91 Klimboff et al. v I i I [5 BASIN ELEMENT [76] Inventors: Morris Klimboff, 1410 Holman View Dr., Cincinnati, Ohio 45215; James Edwards Chisholm, 1969 Section Rd., Apt. No. 300, Cincinnati, Ohio 45237 [22] Filed: Dec. 22, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 211,025

[52] U.S. Cl. 4/166, 220/85 K [51] Int. Cl A47k 1/04 [58] Field of Search. 220/73, 85 K; 4/187 A, 187 R, 4/166; 264/176, 177 F, 177 R; 425/461, 464,

[56] v v References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,403,490 10/1968 Luedtke 52/213 2,375,827 5/1945 Slaughter..... 264/177 R 2,679,915 6/1954 Clingman 52/214 7 a 1 Feb. 19, 1974- 3,028,605 4/1962 Lander 4/187 A 340,027 4/1886 Allen 4/187 R 1,302,658 5/1919 Henning.. 4/187 R 2,722,689 11/1955 Uphues..... 4/187 R 3,203,053 8/1965 Lane et al... 52/213 X 3,267,492 8/1966 Jenkins 4/187 A 3,387,903 6/1968 Karlen 4/187 R Primary Examiner-William 1. Price Assistant Examiner-Donald B. Massenberg [5 7 ABSTRACT 6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures BASIN ELEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The installation of plastic, simulated cement etc. articles such as wash basins, laundry tubs, mop basins in commercial buildings and private homes have become increasingly more frequent in recent years. These articles, especially those which are low profile and floor mounted, are exposed to continued abuse from such articles as heavy buckets, floor polishing and vacuuming machinery and other heavy equipment. Because of this frequent abuse, the rim area which generally protrudes outwardly away from the sides of such articles, becomes chipped or otherwise damaged after a period of time. The need for protective bumpers to prevent such damage has been recognized by those in the industry for sometime and various bumper-type arrangements have been successfully marketed.

The bumpers now commercially available, generally are fabricated from stainless steel or produced from plastic materials, however, they usually also have affixed thereto soft pads or additional bumper parts or shields. Furthermore, most of the commercially avail- I able bumper elements require additional securing means for mounting them to the rim of the articles which they are to protect. These mounting elements are normally in the form of metal screws and brackets or cements or other adhesives which must be first applied to the bumper and then allowed to set.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As mentioned above, our novel modular elements are in the form of an extrusion essentially having the shape of the number 7. The 7 has a horizontal top and long and short legs, the long leg having a foot at the end thereof and a curved member extending from the other end thereof. Our novel bumper element possesses the combined feature of excellent bumper action with the fact that the article is in the form of a single, one-piece extrusion which requires no fasteners or adhesives to anchor the bumper'in position. The bumper action is achieved without the addition of shock absorbing pads or additional bumper parts. The bumper action of our novel element is achieved due to the fact that the portion of the element which exhibits the bumper action acts as an impact force distributor that distorts and redirects the damaging forces away from the' rim it is protecting rather than compressing under saidforce in the normal manner. That is to say, our novel bumper is an impact force director or distributor rather than an'impact absorber. 1

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 of the drawing is a cross-section through the 7" extrusion;

FIG. 2 depicts the installation of the 7 element onto the rim of a mop service basin.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION INCLUDING PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The onepiece, modular element of the present invention is in the form of an extrusion, the cross-section of which is in essentially the shape of the number 7. The 7" comprising a horizontal top and a long and short leg. Referring now to FIG. 1, the horizontal top 1 has, at the ends thereof, short leg 2 and long leg 3. Long'leg 3 has a foot 4 at the end thereof which is angled inwardly towards said short leg 2. At the upper end of said long leg there is positioned a member 5 which extends outwardly from said top end, is curved and slants downwardly and inwardly and terminates short of the exterior face. 6 of said long leg. The long leg and short leg slant slightly inwardly towards the inner faces 7 and 8 of each other. Short leg 2 is preferably about one-half the length of long leg 3 and is also preferably slightly tapered at the free end thereof, as shown by numeral 9. Foot 4 is also slightly tapered at the free end thereof, as shown by numeral 10. Member 5 in terminating short of face 6, is also preferably about one-half the length of leg 8 and is also slightly tapered at free end 11.

As mentioned above, the one-piece modular element of the present invention is in the form of a single extrusion which is self-mounting and exhibits excellent bumper action. The bumper action is achieved at section B of FIG. 1 because the bumper member 5, which re-,

ceives the damaging forces, is suspended away from the rim it is protecting. The bumper action exists because the member 5 gives without disturbing the rim. Member 5 is attached to the modular element only at one continuous point and it is this manner of attachment which allows the forces of impact to temporarily distort it. The forces directed towards the rim are thereby reduced, not only because of the the resiliency of the member 5 but also because the entire extrusion element is produced from the same material. That is to say, when a force strikes memberS, the member distorts and to some extent reduces the shock. Furthermore, since leg 3 is of the same material as member 5, the free end 11 which strikes face 6 does not damage the face or the article which the element is protecting.

In application, the element is mounted onto the rim or edge of the article which it is to protect by clipping it over the edge thereof as shown in FIG. 2. Open section A of FIG. 1 is merely forced over the rim of the article and the grip of the long and short legs 3 and 2 holds the element in place. If the sides of the article being protected have recessed portions, such as shown at 12 in FIG. 2, the clamping action of legs 2 and 3 is even more pronounced because the inward slant of the legs toward each other assures that foot 4 will be tightly pressed against side 13 of the article i y Our novel one piece modular element can be extruded from any extrudable plastic material. We have found, however, that the impact type plastics are preferred in that their resiliency and ability to take continual abuse makes them more attractive than a" nonimpact material. Examples of suitable plastics which may be used include rigid polyvinyl chloride, rubber modified polystyrene, ABS-type polymers, rubber modified acrylic polymers and the like, the particular material employed forming no part of the instant invention.

We claim:

1. A one-piece, plastic modular element in the form of an extrusion of essentially the shape of the number 7" comprising a horizontal top and a long and short leg, the long leg of the 7" having a foot at the end thereof angled inwardly toward the short leg of said 7, each of the short leg and the long leg of the 7 being slanted slightly inwardly'towards the inner faces of each other and a curved, downwardly and inwardly slanting member extending outwardly from the end of said long leg opposite said foot and terminating short of the exterior face of said long leg.

2. A modular element according to claim 1 wherein said short leg is about one half the length of said long leg.

3. A modular element according to claim 1 wherein said member is about one half the length of said long leg.

4. A modular element according to claim 1 wherein member are slightly tapered. 

1. A one-piece, plastic modular element in the form of an extrusion of essentially the shape of the number ''''7'''' comprising a horizontal top and a long and short leg, the long leg of the ''''7'''' having a foot at the end thereof angled inwardly toward the short leg of said ''''7'''', each of the short leg and the long leg of the ''''7'''' being slanted slightly inwardly towards the inner faces of each other and a curved, downwardly and inwardly slanting member extending outwardly from the end of said long leg opposite said foot and terminating short of the exterior face of said long leg.
 2. A modular element according to claim 1 wherein said short leg is about one half the length of said long leg.
 3. A modular element according to claim 1 wherein said member is about one half the length of said long leg.
 4. A modular element according to claim 1 wherein the free ends of said long leg, said short leg and said member are slightly tapered.
 5. A modular element according to claim 1 wherein said short leg and said member are each about one half the length of said long leg.
 6. A modular element according to claim 5 wherein the free ends of said long leg, said short leg and said member are slightly tapered. 